Struggle
by NZGirl25
Summary: 17-year-old Charlie Buckton is struggling to cope. Darryl Braxton and his brothers arrive in Summer Bay after their mother leaves them. What happens when Charlie and Brax meet? Will they be able to help each other pick up the pieces of their broken lives?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, so this is my new story Struggle, its my first fic where Brax and Charlie are in their teens. I know that there are already stories about them being teens, but I'm hoping to bring something different, so, I hope you like it. Please review so I know if people want more of this story.**

**Thanks to Mel and Hayley for their help with this story :)**

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><p>"This is it, boys." 17 year old Darryl, 'Brax', Braxton told his brothers, Heath, 15 and Casey, 2, as Brax drove past the 'Welcome to Summer Bay' sign.<p>

They were in Summer Bay because Cheryl Braxton, their mother, had taken off with another bloke. Brax, who was the oldest and most responsible out of the brothers, thought that it would be best to move to Summer Bay than to stay in Mangrove River because Brax wanted to give his brothers a better life.

_Brax and Heath arrived home from school to find their Mum loading suitcases into the boot of a car, a man Brax nor Heath had seen before in the driver's seat._

_"Ah, great you boys are here. Now, Casey is next door, I'm going."_

_"What? Mum, what do you mean your going?" Brax asked. "Where?"_

_Cheryl sighed and placed a hand on her waist. "Away from here."_

_"Mum, what about us? Case is only two years old for gods sake!" Brax exclaimed. _

_"Your the responsible one Darryl, you look after him." Cheryl said._

_"Cheryl, are you coming of not?" The man in the car called._

_"I'm coming Bart!" Cheryl said in a sickly sweet voice._

_"Mum, don't go." Brax pleaded. _

_"I'm going to do whatever I want!" Cheryl said angrily. "Bye." She closed the boot of the car and got into the passenger seat of the car. The car drove off, leaving Brax with the most responsibility he had ever faced in his life._

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><p><strong>Coming up:<br>Brax finds a place for them to live.  
>Brax finds a babysitter for Casey, and enrols himself and Heath into Summer Bay High. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. I've had twelve reviews for the first chapter, which is amazing, so thank you.**

**I'm not too happy with this chapter, but I hope you guys like it anyway.**

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><p>Brax walked into The Pier Diner, hoping to find someone that could help him find a caravan or somewhere that they could stay. He headed to the counter.<p>

"Hi, what can I get you?" Irene asked.

"I was just wondering where I could find the caravan park?" Brax asked.

Irene gave Brax the directions, scribbling it down on a piece of paper. She handed it over to Brax, smiling.

Brax smiled back. "Thanks... uh..." He trailed off.

"Irene." Irene smiled.

"Thanks Irene." Brax said.

"Your welcome."

After following the directions exactly, Brax, Heath and Casey arrived at the caravan park.

"I'll be back in a second," Brax told Heath and Casey before turning back to Heath, who was sat in the passengers seat. "Look after him okay?"

Heath nodded.

Brax asked a passer-by for directions to where he could get a caravan and arrived at a house. Knocking on the door, he waited nervously for someone to answer.

A balding man answered the door. "Hey, what can I get for ya mate?"

"I would like to rent a caravan," Brax rummaged in his pocket for his money. "I can pay $200 up front."

"How many people would be living in the caravan and their ages?" Alf asked.

"There's me, I'm seventeen, and my younger brothers, they are 15 and 2."

"I don't have any caravans that can accomodate you and your brothers, but I do know of a flat that I can rent for you, $150 deposit and $200 a month."

"I'll take it."

After being shown around the house, paying the deposit and settling in, Brax found a phonebook and started looking for childcare facilities around Summer Bay. He found one relatively close and rang the number.

"Hello, this is Claire, how can I help?" A perky voice answered.

"Hi, I need to enrol my brother."

"Age?"

"2 years old." Brax answered.

"And when would you like him to start?"

"Is tomorrow okay?" Brax asked.

"Yup, just bring him in, fill out some enrolment forms and you're good to go."

"Great, thanks."

The next day, after filling out a bunch of forms, Casey was enrolled in childcare which left Brax and Heath open to enrol in Summer Bay High.

Gina Palmer was the school principal of Summer Bay High. After filling out more forms, Brax and Heath were both ushered into her office, where she briefed them on the school, how it worked, and she gave them their timetables.

"Now, I have two students here that are willing to help you out, show you the ropes," Gina said. "Charlie, Bianca!" She called, and a brunette and a blonde walked in.

Brax's attention was quickly turned the the brunette. She was reserved, he could tell that straight away.

"Darryl, this is Charlotte Buckton, she'll be showing you around, and Heath, this is Bianca Scott, and she'll be showing you around."

"Hi." Charlie said quietly.

"Hey." Brax returned.

"Charlie, Bianca, first class is about to begin, can you take them to their first class?" Gina asked and Charlie nodded.

"Off you go then." Gina smiled, and the four of them walked out of the office.

After Bianca and Heath had split off from Brax and Charlie, Brax decided to talk to Charlie.

"Who's our teacher?" Brax asked, hoping to break the ice.

Charlie's face broke out into a smile. "Mr. Hawkins, he's an amazing english teacher, you'll like him."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey readers, here's chapter three. Thanks for all the reviews so far, and please review this chapter :)**

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><p>Brax was assigned the seat behind Charlie, so throughout the english class, he watched her with fascination.<p>

"Okay class, for your next assignment, you will be put into pairs, which I have assigned," Mr. Hawkins said and the class groaned. Brax was happy, hoping that he would be paired with Charlie. "Emily, you'll be paired with Avery," A blonde haired girl hi-fived another girl. "Claire, Louise, Josh, Hope,"

Charlie listened as the teacher called out the pairs. The only people she wanted to be paired with was Leah, or Darryl, or Brax as he had told her to call him.

"Matt, Leah, Charlie, Brax," Mr. Hawkins finished reading from his list. Brax was ecstatic. He got paired with Charlie, who turned around in her chair. Brax gave her a cheeky grin.

"Looks like I'm stuck with you." Charlie joked.

"Well ain't you lucky." Brax joked back.

"The assignment is a study on gangs. Each pair will have to create a presentation about any aspect they'd like," Mr. Hawkins said. "You have the rest of the lesson to get with your pair and discuss your project. Get started!"

"I don't like gangs." Charlie said to Brax.

"Gangs can sometimes mean family." Brax said, offended at what Charlie had said, he was the leader of the Riverboys.

"Really?" Charlie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. I would know." Brax said.

"How?" Charlie asked.

"I'm part of the Riverboys." Brax said.

"What?" Charlie had heard about the Riverboys, her father was constantly mentioning them at home. She heard that they were bad news.

"I'm the leader." Brax said.

Charlie was shocked. "What do you mean you're their leader? I don't think I can work with you!"

"Why?" Brax asked.

"My dad's warned me." Charlie said.

"Your dad?" Brax asked.

"He's a cop!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't believe everything the cops tell you or your parents. I might be the leader of the Riverboys but that doesn't make me a bad person, they are my family!" Brax said angrily.

"Your family?" Charlie asked skeptically.

"Yes my family, what else would you like me to call them?"

"I don't know." Charlie replied.

"Look Charlie, come over after school and I'll prove you wrong."

"Prove me wrong?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah. I'll prove to ya that the Riverboys aren't as bad as people make us out to be."

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><p>Brax walked through the front door of the house with Charlie in tow. She was unsettled and didn't want to be there. But what she wasn't expecting was the scene that unfolded in front of her.<p>

"Baks home!" Casey yelled running up towards Brax, throwing his arms around his neck.

"Hey Case." Brax smiled, picking his younger brother up.

"Baks?" Charlie asked.

"Charlie, this is my brother Casey." Brax introduced.

Heath then walked through the door accompanied by Sam and Brodie.

"Hey bro." Heath greeted as Brax walked over to them and man-hugged all of them.

"Heath, Sam, Brodie, this is Charlie." Brax told them.

"Hi." Charlie smiled shyly.

"Hey Charlie! Brax you picked up a hot looking chick." Brodie exclaimed.

"Brodie." Brax warned and Brodie apologised.

"Get lost aye boys?" Brax said as he gently pushed them in the direction of the bedrooms.

"Yeah yeah."

"So who are Brodie and Sam?" Charlie asked as she watched Brax set Casey in front of the TV gently.

"They're Riverboys." Brax said as he changed the channel. Spongebob and Patrick appeared on screen.

"Oh." Charlie said.

"They joined because their parents weren't that great." Brax said.

"What about yours?" Charlie asked.

"It's not really something that I want to talk about around Case." Brax told her.

Charlie nodded. "Okay, well my sister Ruby, she's around his age, maybe they could play and you could fill me in?"

Brax smiled. "Sure. I'm not sure about taking Case away from Spongebob though, but I'm sure he'll get over it." He grinned his cheeky grin at her.

"Great. Now?" Charlie asked.

"Yep, let me just let the boys know." Brax said, before disappearing down the hallway.

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><p><strong>Please review! There's plenty more to come :)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four.**

Casey babbled to himself in his pram as Brax pushed it, Charlie walking beside him.

"So, tell me more about yourself." Charlie said as they turned the corner into Charlies street.

"There's nothing really to tell." Brax said.

"Its this one," Charlie said, pointing to a brick house. "There must be something to tell."

"I grew up in Mangrove River all my life," Brax said, pushing the pram down Charlies driveway. Charlie took her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

"Mum, I'm home!" Charlie called as they walked into the house. Elsie Buckton appeared, wearing an apron and holding a little girl. Charlie held her arms out for the girl and Elsie handed her over.

"Brax, this is my mum and my sister Ruby," She told Brax, before turning to Elsie. "Mum, this is Darryl Braxton and his brother Casey."

"Call me Brax, please."

"Sure." Elsie said, not ruffled by the fact that Brax was a Braxton.

"Mum, Brax and I were going to go for a walk, can Casey play with Rubes?" Charlie asked.

"Sure honey, just be back by dinner." Elsie answered.

"Yup. See you soon Rubes." Charlie said, kissing her forehead before giving her back to Elsie.

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><p>Charlie and Brax walked down the driveway silently, each lost in their own thoughts.<p>

"Brax, what made you come to Summer Bay? You've said that you've been in Mangrove River all your life, what made you come here with your brothers?" Charlie asked.

"Just needed a change." Brax said as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Really? There wasn't anything else?" Charlie questioned.

"My Dad left when I was younger," Brax said. "I grew up raising my two brothers because my Mum was always out at the pub or the casino or whatever, she wasn't at home that's for sure."

"Oh Brax, I'm sorry." Charlie said.

"She left with a guy, leaving me to support Heath and Case on my own. I wanted them to have a better future so I brought them here. I have a job in Mangrove so that helps." Brax said.

"That must be really hard." Charlie said sympathetically.

"Yeah, well what can ya do?" Brax said. "Come on, we should get you back home."

Charlie stopped next to him. "Brax, thanks for telling me." She meant it too, she appreciated Brax telling her because it made her see him in a completely different light. To her, he was just a guy from the wrong side of the tracks trying to support his brothers. She slipped her hand in his, and to her surprise, he didn't pull away.

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><p>Charlie was sitting in her room later that night trying to concentrate on her maths homework. It was trigonometry, which Charlie hated with a passion. She didn't see the point of it. And it was made harder by the fact that there was one person on her mind that she couldn't get out.<p>

After she held his hand, they just walked in comfortable silence back to Charlie's, where he thanked Elsie for looking after Casey and left Charlie with the promise that he'd do some work on the project that night.

Charlie's thoughts were interrupted when the front door opened and closed loud enough to give Charlie a fright. Ross Buckton had arrived home from a long day of work at the station.

"Charlie! Dinner's ready!" Elsie called.

"Okay Mum!" Charlie called back, putting down her pen and closing her notebook and her maths textbook before heading into the dining room where Elsie was dishing up dinner, which was roast chicken, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. Ruby was sitting in her highchair, eating, but making a mess of her face and the highchair table aswell.

"So, Charlie, how was school today?" Ross asked.

"It was good." Charlie replied.

"Your mother told me that you brought home a guest after school today." Ross said, putting down his knife and fork and looking directly at Charlie.

"Yeah." Charlie replied.

"Explain to me why Darryl Braxton was in this house?" Ross said, getting straight to the point.

"Dad, we're doing a project together for English, we got assigned pairs." Charlie explained.

"Fine, but I don't want him in this house."

"But Dad..." Charlie began to say but she was cut off.

"No buts, Charlie. No Braxton is to ever be in this house again, you understand? They're a bad influence, and I don't want you or Ruby associating with them, especially that Darryl Braxton. Do your project, fine. But no seeing him other than for the project." Ross told Charlie.

"Okay Dad." Charlie said.

"Good." Ross said, before picking up his knife and fork. Nothing was said about the Braxtons for the rest of the night, but even when Charlie was in bed and trying to sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about Darryl Braxton, and the fact that she was developing feelings for him.

But what she didn't know was that Brax was lying in bed, thinking about her too.

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><p>The next morning, as Charlie was getting ready for school, her cellphone beeped. She looked at it and saw that it was a text from Brax.<p>

_Walk to school with me today? _Charlie read. She quickly typed up a message and pressed send.

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><p><em>Sure. I'll meet u at the dairy around the corner from my place. <em>

Brax smiled as he read the reply from Charlie. Heath walked into Brax's room and saw the smile on his face.

"Bro, whats with the dopey look on your face?" Heath asked.

"Nothing, go get ready for school, we're leaving soon." Brax told his brother, who sighed and left Brax in peace to type and send Charlie a reply.

_Half an hour?_

_Sure. See u then. _

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><p><strong>Hey guys! I hoped you liked this chapter, I really liked writing it, and I already have some ideas for the next chapter. I know its implied that Ruby is Charlie's sister but its all part of the story so you'll have to wait and see what happens. Next time I update this story I'll be sixteen :) Anyway, please click the blue button below and tell me what you thought of this chapter. <strong>_  
><em>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five.**

After Charlie got dressed in her school uniform dress, she headed into the kitchen where Ruby was gurgling to herself in her high chair and Elsie was trying to feed her.

"Morning Mum," Charlie said, before kissing Ruby's head. "Morning Rubes."

"Morwing Mummy!" Ruby exclaimed, holding her arms up so Charlie would pick her up. "Up! Up!"

Charlie laughed and picked up her two year old daughter. She loved Ruby, even though the way that she got Ruby wasn't exactly the best time of her life. Understatement. It was the worst time of her life, it was something that even the most horrible person in the world shouldn't go through.

She was raped when she was fourteen. She was at a party and her boyfriend at the time Grant Bledcoe raped her. She wouldn't trade Ruby for anything though, she was the only good thing that came out of a horrible experience.

She told Brax that Ruby was her sister, she wasn't ready to go into all the details, she barely knew Brax, but she felt terrible because he told her about his mother leaving Brax, Heath and Casey.

She said bye to Elsie, gave Ruby another cuddle and headed out the door, and headed down the street towards the dairy where she was supposed to meet Brax. When she saw him her heart began to race. She walked up to him trying not to look so smitten.

"Hey. Did you already drop Casey off?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, and Heath is walking with a few mates." Brax replied, as him and Charlie started walking towards school. They walked in silence, which was driving Brax insane.

"Whats your story?" He finally asked.

"Huh?" Charlie asked.

"Tell me about yourself." Brax said.

"Umm, well I'm seventeen." Charlie said.

Brax laughed. "What else?"

"I live with my Mum and my Dad and Ruby, I wanna be a cop when I'm older."

"Just like your old man?" Brax asked.

"Yep." Charlie replied.

"Charlie, does he mind that we hang out?" Brax asked.

Charlie stopped walking, as did Brax. "He cares, yeah. He doesn't like you Brax, because you are a Braxton and part of the Riverboys."

"Do you agree with him?" Brax asked.

"If I did I wouldn't be walking to school with you right now," Charlie replied. "He told me that it was fine for me to see you for the project but other than that I can't see you. He doesn't want you in the house."

Brax could tell that she was upset. He pulled her into a hug. "Hey, hey, it'll be alright."

"My mum, she likes you. But Dad, he hates anyone to do with the Riverboys. Especially you."

"Elsie likes me?" Brax asked.

"She can see what I see." Charlie said.

"And what do you see?" Brax asked.

"Well, I see a good person who will do anything to make sure that his brothers are safe and have a good future." Charlie answered, her body still pressed up against Brax's. She looked up at him, into his eyes. They both leant in at the same time and their lips met in a soft yet passionate kiss.

"Wow." Brax said when they finally broke apart for air.

Charlie nodded in reply. "What does this mean?" She asked.

"What do you want it to mean?" Brax asked her.

"I want it to mean that we are together." Charlie told him honestly.

"I want that too Charlie." Brax said with a cheeky grin, making Charlie's heart melt.

"What about my Dad?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"Once he realises that I won't hurt you, I think he'll get used to it." Brax said.

Charlie looked at her watch before nodding and slipping her hand into his. "Come on, we better get going otherwise we'll be late."

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><p>Charlie and Bianca sat together at lunch with their other friend, Leah Poulos.<p>

"Brax and I kissed." Charlie blurted out.

"What?" Bianca asked, while Leah looked attentively at Charlie, completely forgetting about her lemon yoghurt.

Charlie nodded.

"When? How?" Leah asked.

"This morning." Charlie told her two closest friends.

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><p>Charlie walked alone down the beach as Brax came out of the surf. He saw her and smiled. He headed towards her, still wet.<p>

"Hey." Charlie giggled as Brax kissed her forehead, her nose and finally her lips.

"Hey you." Brax said.

As the new happy couple began to kiss again, Ross Buckton stood on the grass leading down to the beach, watching them. He was not happy.

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><p><strong>Hey guys, I hoped you liked this chapter, I'm sorry it took so long, please review. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I am super happy with this chapter! Sorry for the wait, I hope you like this chapter.**

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><p>Charlie returned home later that afternoon to see her mother and father sitting at the table, looking unhappy. Ross looked like he was about to explode with anger. Charlie started to feel like she was in trouble. Massive trouble.<p>

"Where's Ruby?" Charlie asked, wondering where her two year old daughter was.

"She's sleeping," Ross said curtly. "Sit, Charlotte."

Now Charlie knew that she was in trouble. She sat down, wondering what she had done.

"Where were you today after school?" Ross asked.

"The beach." Charlie replied honestly.

"With who?" Ross asked. "Don't lie to me Charlotte."

"Brax." Charlie whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Charlotte Buckton, who were you with on the beach!" Ross yelled, standing up, towering over Charlie.

"Brax." Charlie said louder.

"Charlotte, I saw you kissing him!" Ross thundered. "What did I tell you?"

"I love him." Charlie whispered.

"You what?" Ross yelled.

"I love him!" Charlie screamed, standing up. "I love him!"

"Charlotte, he is a criminal!"

"No he isn't!" Charlie yelled. "He's never been arrested, never done anything!"

"He's leader of the Riverboys!"

"So what!" Charlie screamed. "They are a brotherhood that support each other through everything!"

"Charlotte, if you want to be a officer of the law, you can't see him anymore!"

Charlie burst into tears. "No," She sobbed. "I'm not going to let you tell me what to do. You may be my dad, but you can't tell me who to love." Charlie sobbed, running down the hallway. Taking one glance at Ruby, she saw the girl was sitting in her crib wide awake from all the yelling.

"Mummy?" Ruby asked.

"Hey, Rubes."

"Why are you crying?" Ruby asked.

"No reason." Charlie said, trying to smile for her daughter.

"Was grandpa yelling at you?" Ruby asked.

"Come on," Charlie said, picking Ruby up out of her crib. "We are going to go out for a little while."

"Are we going to see Bwax and Casey?" Ruby asked.

Charlie nodded.

"Yay!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air as Charlie carried her to her room. She grabbed her school bag and put some jeans, a jumper, some shorts, tops, underwear and bras in it. She also put all her books that she needed, her hairbrush and everything else she would need before heading to the bathroom, where she put her toothbrush and toothpaste. She then grabbed another backpack and put everything Ruby would need for a few days into shouldered both bags and picked Ruby up again before sneaking out the back door.

She motioned for Ruby to be quiet as she snuck down the driveway and down the street. She waited until she had reached the end of her street before putting Ruby down and pulling out her cellphone, dialed Brax's number.

"Brax." She sobbed when Brax answered.

"Charlie, is that you?" Brax asked.

"Yep." Charlie replied.

"Where are you? What's wrong?" Brax asked, really concerned for his girlfriend.

"I'll be over in five minutes with Ruby okay?" Charlie asked. "I'll explain then."

"Okay baby." Brax said. Charlie hung up and put her phone back in her pocket, just then it vibrated again with an incoming call. Dad, the caller ID read. Charlie rejected the call. As Charlie and Ruby walked to Brax's, Charlie rejected ten more missed calls, both from her mother and her father.

Charlie knocked on the door. Heath answered, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

"Hey, Heath, where's Brax?" Charlie asked, keeping a hold of Ruby's hand.

"Right here," Brax appeared, cradling a sleeping Casey in his arms. "Heath, get lost please while I talk to Charlie," Heath nodded before heading to his bedroom, knowing not to argue with Brax, who turned to Ruby. "Hey Rubes, you wanna watch some TV?"

Ruby nodded eagerly. "Spongebob?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, come on." Brax said just as Casey stirred and woke up.

"Wuby!" He exclaimed, seeing Ruby following Brax over to the TV. He squirmed, trying to get out of Brax's arms. Brax set Casey down, turning on the TV to Spongebob before turning to Charlie.

"You want a juice?" He asked gently.

"That would be good." Charlie said, setting her bags down before following Brax into the kitchen, where he poured them a glass of orange juice.

"Sit." He said, handing Charlie a glass. She sat.

"What happened?" He asked, taking her hand.

"My dad, he saw us on the beach today. We had a huge fight and I snuck out after with Ruby. Can I stay here with you for a few days?" Charlie asked. "I can' t face my parents right now."

"Charlie..." Brax sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"You don't want me to stay?" Charlie guessed.

"No baby, it's just... do your parents know where you are?" Brax asked.

Charlie shook her head.

"Charlie..." Brax took her hand again. "You need to call them."

"I can't!" Charlie exclaimed horrified.

"Charlie, just let them know where you are."

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><p><strong>What did you think? Please review!<strong>


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